Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1887-01-07

unless you do ne Christ commands you,
you will he seized upon by an everlasting
wasting away. Obey and live; disobey and
die. Thrilling, over-arching, unde1-gird-
ing. stupendous alternative!
Well, Gen. Naaman could not stand the
test. The charioteer gives jerk TO the
right line until the bit snaps in the horses
mouth, and the wbirr of the wheels and the
flying of the dust show the indignation OF
the great .ommander. HE turned and
went away i'll q rage" 80 people now
often get mad at religion. They viturease
against ministers. against churches, against |
Christian people. One would think from
their irate behavior that God had been
studying how TO annoy and exas, crate and
Only trying TO cure their d+ath-deallng
leprosy. That is all. Yet they whip up
their horses. they dig in their spurs, and
they go away i'll rage.
So, after ALL it seems that this health ex-
cursion of Gen. Naaman is to be n dead
faiuae. That little Hebrew cap;iva might
as we'll have not told him of the prophet.
and this long journey might as well not
have been taken. Poor, sick, dying Naaman!
are YOU going AWAY iii high dnd9eon, and
worse than when YOU came? AS hts challot
halts n moment his servants CLIMBER up in
it and coax him to do us Elisha said. They
say: "I,'s easy. If the prophet had told
you TO walk for mile on sharp spikes i'll
order TO get rid OF this awful disease you
1 would have done il. 1t is easy. Come,
my lord, just get down and wash in the
Jordan. You take bath every day, any,
how, and in this climate it is SO hot that 1t
aud Tor the sake Of the army you command,
and for the sake of the nation that a mites
you. Come, my lord, just try this Jordan
La,h." SWELL, he says, ITO please you
will do as you say" The retinuc drives 10
the brink of the Jordan. The horses
paw and neigh to get into the stream them
selves and cool their hot TANKS. Gen.
Naamau, assisted by his attendants. gets
down out of the chariot and painfully
comes 10 the brink OF the river, and steps
in until the water comes to the ankle, and
goes on deeper until the water comes 10
the girdle, and now standing so far down
in the stream Just little inclination of
the head will thoroughly immense him.
He bows once into the flood, and
comes up and shakes the water out
of nostrils and eyes; and his attendants
look at him and say: "Why. General, how
much better you do look" And he bows a
and the wild stare is gone out of his eyes.
He Lows the third time into the flood and
comes up, and the shriveled flesh has got
smooth again. He bows the fourth time
into tue flood and comes up, and the hair
that had fallen ont is restored in thick locks
again, all over the brow. He bows the
filth time into the food and comes up, and
the hoarseness has gone out of his throat.
He bows the sixth time into the flood and
comes up, and all the soreness and anguish
have gone out of the limbs. "Why," he
says, II am almost we'll, but I will make a
complete cure" and he bows the seventh
time into the food and he comes up, and
not so much as tester or scale or eruption
as big as the head of q pin is 10 be seen on
him. He steps out ON the bunk and says:
els it possible?" Aud the attendants look
and say. us it possible?" And as, with
the health of an athlete, he bounds back
into tie chariot and drives on there goes
up from all his attendants wild "Huzza!
, and thank the man of God for his counsel,
! SO fruusht with wisdom. When they left
3 the pro- het's house they went of mad;
they have come back glad.
y Now, my hearers, you notice that this
Gen. Naaman did two things in order 10
got we'll. The first was, he got out Of his
0 chariot. He might have staid there with
/ his swollen feet on the stuffed ottoman,
/ seated on that embroidered cushion unit
Q his lust gasp, tie would never have got amy
r relief. He had TO get down out of his
n chariot. And you have got to get down
!, out Of the chario, of your pride if YOU eve,
g become Christian. You cannot drive uE
{ to the cross vi Il coach and four and he
saved among all the spangles. You seen
!" to think that the Lord is going TO be com.
/" plimented by your coming. Oh, no; yot
: poor, miserable, scaly, leprous sinner, gel
8 down out of that! We all come in the
y same naughty way. We expect to ride
e into the kingdom of God. Never until we
| AZ EraoS will find m
O The Lord has endorsed us. unchariotec
us. Get down out of your pride. &c
Q down out OF your lf-righteousness ant
r your hypercrilicisnl. We have all got tt
!. do that. That is the journey we have go
It 10 make on our knees. 1t is our inferno
Q llide that keeps us from getting rid of III,
O leprosy of SIN. Dear Lord, what have ",
1 to be proud Of? Proud of our scales:
: Proud of our uncleanness? Proud OF thi
Q killing in.ec ion? Being us down at TIL,
8 feet, weeping, praying, penitent, believin:
n supplican.s r,,o :. 49,. - ,,.o,
And Pm q sinner vile. indeed
Lord, believe Thy grace is free,
0 Oh. ma nifty that grace in me!
8 But he had not only to get down out O
J. his chariot; he had to wash. "Oh, yol
: say, II am very careful of my oblations
o Every day plunge into bright and beau
y tiful BATH" All, my hearers, there is
a Hood brighter that any other IL is IN
s flood that breaks from the granite of eterna
t hills. 1t is the food of pardon, and peace
II and life, and Heaven. That flood stalte'
e in the tears Of Christ and the sweat o
Ge,hsemane, and rolled on, accumulatin
s food, until all ealth and Heaven coul'
n bathe in it. Zachariah called it ",he foun
n tain open for sin and uncleanness." Will
is lam Cowper called it 1.-The fountain file,
e with blood" Your fathers and mother
t washed their sins and sorrows away in tina
1t fountain. Oh, my hearers, do YOU not 10
70 day feel like wading into ii? Wade dow,
70 now into this glorious flood deeper, deeper
Z, deeper. Plunge once, twice, thrice, fou
t times, five times, six times. seven times.
l. will take as much ns that 10 cure your soul
1t Oh, wash. wash, and be clean!
II l suppose that was q great time a
y Damascus when Gen. Naaman got back
n The characters did not have to driv.
: slowly any longer lest they jolt the invalid
d but as the horses dashed through the street
r. of Damascus think the people rushed on
!! to hail back their chieftain. Naaman'
y wife hardly recognized her husband; h